France’s Alizé Cornet played the last singles match of her remarkable career, falling to No.7 seed Zheng Qinwen in the first round at Roland-Garros, where she was appearing for the 20th time.
Born in Nice on January 22, 1990, Cornet first appeared on the ITF Circuit in 2004 and the following year she made her Tour-level main draw debut as a 15-year-old wild card at Roland-Garros. On that occasion, she won her opening match before running into Amélie Mauresmo; two years later, Cornet won the 2007 Roland-Garros girls’ singles title and also cracked the Top 100 for the first time.
The crafty righthander reached the first three WTA finals of her career in 2008, at Acapulco, Rome and then Budapest, where she captured her maiden singles title and the first of three career doubles titles. She finished that season ranked No.16 – one of five illustrious teenagers in the year-end Top 20, alongside Victoria Azarenka, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki.
Maintaining her momentum, a breakthrough run to the Round of 16 at the Australian Open saw Cornet attain her career-high ranking of No.11 on February 16, 2009. Although she would wait four years for a second singles title, the Frenchwoman ultimately contested 15 finals, her Budapest win being the first of six victories at the WTA 250 level, taking in 2012 Bad Gastein, 2013 Strasbourg, 2014 Katowice, 2016 Katowice and 2018 Gstaad.
But it is at the Slams that Cornet truly made the record books. She did not fail to appear in a Grand Slam main draw for a 69-tournament streak that ran from the Australian Open in 2007 to Roland-Garros in 2024 – an achievement unmatched in the women’s game. She became the record holder at the 2022 US Open, her 63rd Slam-in-a-row, surpassing Japan’s Ai Sugiyama.
Along the way, Cornet reached at least the Round of 16 at all four majors, including a career best quarterfinal at the Australian Open in 2022 – setting the record for most appearances at a Grand Slam (63) before reaching the last eight. Among WTA players, her overall total of 72 Grand Slam main draw appearances is bettered only by Serena (92) and Venus Williams (81).
“Alizé’s distinguished WTA results and incredible record of Grand Slam participation reflect supreme dedication to the game and a fierce competitive spirit,” said Steve Simon, Chairman and CEO of the WTA. “She can also be proud of her contribution as a role model who helped to grow women’s tennis by engaging with fans, sponsors and media in a special way. On behalf of the WTA family, I wish her much happiness and success as she takes on new adventures.”
During her career, Cornet posted 25 Top 10 wins, including seven over Top 3 opponents: No.1 Serena Williams (2014 Dubai, 2014 Wimbledon and 2014 Wuhan, via ret.), No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska (2014 Katowice), No.2 Simona Halep (2015 Madrid), No.3 Garbiñe Muguruza (2022 Australian Open) and No.1 Iga Swiatek (2022 Wimbledon, ending the Pole’s 37-match win streak). Her wins over Serena made Cornet the first player to defeat the American in three straight meetings since Justine Henin in 2007.
A four-time Olympian from Athens in 2008 through Tokyo in 2021, Cornet was also a stalwart for France’s Billie Jean King Cup team, earning 27 nominations over a 14-year span – including a non-playing role in the team’s 2019 finals defeat over Australia in Perth. Additionally, she teamed with Jo-Wilfred Tsonga to win the Hopman Cup for France in 2014.
She leaves the sport with a singles win-loss record of 545-457 (.544), including 76-72 at the Slams, and career prize money exceeding $10 million.
